Letters to the editor 4/16

Noise ordinance would protect public's health

The Town of East Fishkill is considering a noise ordinance to "safeguard the many from the actions of a few" who live by their rule: "It's my property so I can make as much noise as I want on it."

In any East Fishkill home the sick have the right to convalesce, the elderly and infants to take a nap, the home office worker and students to concentrate.

No one should have the nature of their acoustical environment imposed upon them by those whose pathological sense of entitlement is dwarfed only by their disregard for others.

Both the Environmental Protection Agency and World Health Organization have long recognized noise as a form of air pollution that is a threat to human well-being. Not merely an annoyance, this "secondhand smoke of our ears" raises the risk for cardiovascular disease, sleep disturbances, endocrine dysfunction, hearing loss, impaired learning in children and abnormal fetal development.

Noise travels from the source and trespasses onto adjoining properties, invading neighbors' privacy, robbing them of their right to quiet enjoyment and murdering their sleep and health.

Town regulations create healthy boundaries for those who fail to create them for themselves. No good neighbor has any reason to fear a noise ordinance although the noisemakers would have you believe otherwise.

Come to the public hearing at 7:30 p.m April 25, East Fishkill Town Hall, to help keep the peace in our community! For more info: 845-705-9503.

Paula Gherardi

Hopewell Junction

Expose the corruption of elected officials

Has anyone noticed something about our elected officials lately? I mean besides the fact more are going to jail.

Our Albany politicians like to rush legislation through in the middle of the night. The new gun law and the State of New York budget, for example. In Connecticut the Legislature passed its gun law in the middle of the night. Washington, D.C., politicians like to do the same. There can be two explanations. First, our elected officials are all vampires. Second, they are afraid the light of day will expose all their corruption.

It is time we demand transparency and the end of corruption in Albany. That is what Gov. Andrew Cuomo promised but has failed to deliver.

Ken Gallagher

Dover Plains

Support fair elections in New York state

Support Gov. Andrew Cuomo's efforts to pass a public funding bill for fair elections. We all know that big money and corporations have been influencing the political process to the detriment of the citizen. It is time we put an end to this undemocratic process. If funding could be free of favors, we would all profit.

Just think about the recent arrest of several New York politicians. This kind of corruption has no place in our American system. It's time to get serious about putting an end to this practice. Public funding will make sure that you and I have a voice, not just the rich or the big corporations. Our leaders will no longer have to face pressure from big funders to make decisions that often go against what is best for the average person.

Those politicians who oppose this legislation claim that it will be too costly, but the fact is that the maximum cost for a matching system is less than $2 a year per New Yorker. Please call Gov. Cuomo today at 518-474-8390 to show your support for publicly financed Fair Elections for New York. It's time to hear the voice of ordinary people. For more information: www.fairelectionsny.org.

Madeline C. Labriola

Highland

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Letters to the editor 4/16

The Town of East Fishkill is considering a noise ordinance to 'safeguard the many from the actions of a few' who live by their rule: 'It's my property so I can make as much noise as I want on it.'